Positive Reinforcement
by Fish Stick Friday
Summary: Carlos hates Algebra. It's his nemesis. As Logan tries to help Carlos, he comes to the conclusion that Carlos just needs the right kind of positive reinforcement, so he tries a few things. Cargan fic! Contains slash. Slight spoilers for Big Time Move.


**A/N: This was obviously inspired by the newest episode of Big Time Rush; "Big Time Move." **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Positive Reinforcement**

Carlos was huddled over his algebra textbook. He tapped the eraser of his pencil rhythmically like it was some sort of drumstick. His tongue jutted out of the corner of his mouth, and he furrowed his eyebrows together in concentration. His helmet steadily slid down his forehead, covering his eyes.

"X plus seven equals twelve. Solve for X. What the heck? I have a hard enough time with numbers, and now there are letters too?" Carlos commented out loud.

Logan meandered into the kitchen to fetch himself a bottle of fruit water. Today was Sunday, and naturally, Logan had finished all of his homework on Friday. He chuckled to himself when he saw that Carlos had procrastinated on his homework as usual.

Carlos let out an audible groan. He was under the assumption that Logan was laughing at him. Just because Logan had no trouble with his homework doesn't mean everyone else was just as lucky!

"Need some help?" Logan asked, suddenly and unexpectedly leaning over Carlos' shoulder, startling the helmeted boy.

"I can get it on my own! I'm not stupid, you know!" Carlos retorted, moodily.

Logan held his hands up innocently.

"I never said you were, Carlitos. I can help you if you want. But if not, then that's okay too," Logan stated.

Even though Carlos didn't see it, Logan gave him a small smile. Carlos' shoulders rose and fell as he sighed deeply. He didn't really _want_ Logan's help. It was nothing personal though. It was just more of a pride thing. Then again, it was getting close to their bedtime. Carlos had finished all of his other homework, and all he had left was his algebra homework.

"Fine! If you want to help me, you can!" Carlos said, conceding defeat.

"Are you kidding me?" Logan shouted. He cleared his throat, and bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed. He continued on, speaking much softer. "I love helping you…er…people…uh…helping. I love helping."

Carlos suddenly thought that all the letter and numbers that he couldn't make sense of in his textbook were the most interesting things on the face of the planet. The truth of the matter was he was actually _really _excited about finally having some quality Cargan time. It has been long overdue.

XXXXX

Logan was seated in a chair that he had scooted right up next to Carlos. The two teenagers were sitting in complete awkward and utter silence.

"Well?" Carlos commented.

"Well what?" Logan replied, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"Aren't you going to do my homework for me?"

"I said I would _help_ you, not do it for you."

Carlos folded his arms over his chest, and sighed dramatically. Every time Logan would try to look at him, Carlos would give him the cold shoulder. Logan couldn't get over how adorable Carlos looked when he pouted. Wait a second. Adorable?

"Carlos, you can pout all you want, but how are you ever going to learn if I do all the work for you? What are you going to do when you have to take a test?" Logan asked.

"Duh! I'll just cheat off you!" Carlos replied.

Logan sent Carlos a death glare that had the shorter boy retreating with his tail between his legs. Logan could be such a goody-goody sometimes…

"Not that I cheat off you…because…I mean…come on. Who does that?" Carlos remarked, laughing nervously as he drew circles on the table absentmindedly.

"Carlos!" Logan scolded.

"What? It wasn't a big deal when you didn't know about it!"

Logan slapped his forehead with his hand. Carlos could be so adorably clueless sometimes. There it was again! Adorable. Seriously, what was with Logan tonight? He stealthily snuck a glance at Carlos when he wasn't watching.

Only Carlos _was_ watching. Both boys immediately averted their gaze, laughing lightheartedly. Logan started whistling nonchalantly while Carlos' cheeks started to heat up. Carlos thought he was the only one who sneaked peeks, but evidently Logan did as well.

XXXXX

"Okay, Carlos. So X plus seven equals twelve. Solve for X. What's the first thing you do?" Logan asked.

"Phone a friend," Carlos said, grinning coyly.

Logan tried not to laugh, but Carlos could be so ador…no! Logan wasn't going to use _that_ word _this_ time! At any rate, Logan ended up laughing regardless.

Carlos loved the sound of Logan's laugh. Er…rather Logan's laugh wasn't…_hideous_. Carlos wondered what was with him tonight. Stealing glances at Logan, liking the sound of his laugh more than he probably should, noticing how when Logan laughs the laugh reaches his eyes, making them crinkle.

"No. You do the inverse," Logan responded.

"The in-what now?" Carlos replied.

"The opposite."

Carlos still had a puzzled expression etched on his face.

"Subtract," Logan said.

"Inverse means subtract?" Carlos asked for clarification.

"No."

"So opposite means subtract?"

"No!"

Logan massaged his temples with his fingers. He was trying to remain patient with Carlos, but sometimes Carlos made that feat next to impossible.

"The opposite of add is subtract. Opposite itself doesn't mean subtract," Logan explained.

"Oh!" Carlos commented, a look of comprehension on his face.

It was so quiet in Apartment 2J that Carlos and Logan could hear the clothes in the dryer tumbling. Mrs. Knight was currently doing laundry.

"So twelve minus seven is…" Logan said, breaking the silence.

Carlos shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I suck at math!"

It didn't take Logan long to come up with what he thought was a clever solution. He was pretty sure Carlos knew how to solve the math problem. He just needed…positive reinforcement.

"What are you doing?" Carlos asked as Logan rummaged through the cabinets in search of something.

"Got it!" Logan announced to nobody in particular.

He took his seat back at the kitchen table, depositing a package of Fruit Smackers on the kitchen table. Carlos' eyes widened with longing. He was practically drooling. Fruit Smackers were his favorite!

Logan opened up the package of fruit snacks, dumping them out on the kitchen table. He counted them to make sure he had enough.

"Okay, so we have twelve Fruit Smackers here. If I take away seven of them, how many do I have left?" Logan asked.

Only when Logan went to take seven Fruit Smackers away, he noticed how there weren't even any on the table surface to begin with. He looked over at Carlos who was busy chewing something, and Logan had a pretty good idea he knew what it was Carlos was eating.

"Carlos!" Logan said in exasperation.

"What? I was hungry, and they're so good!" Carlos retorted.

Logan banged his head on the table repeatedly.

"Okay, how about this? For every problem you solve correctly, I'll give you a kiss," Logan said.

"A k-kiss? You-you're g-gonna g-give m-me a k-kiss?" Carlos stuttered.

The more Carlos thought about it, Logan embodied everything he was looking for in a partner. Carlos didn't mind being with someone taller than him, but he didn't want them to be so tall that Carlos felt like an Oompa Loompa. He had a thing for brunettes. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, so he wanted to be with someone who was smart. He wanted to be with someone who had a good sense of humor and could make him laugh. Carlos was outgoing, so he would prefer to be with someone who wasn't as outgoing. Carlos relished the challenge of getting someone to come out of their shell. Pretty much Carlos would like to be with someone who balanced him out. He was a firm believer in the saying that opposites attract. Looking back, that's why things didn't work with that one Jennifer; she was too much like him.

"You heard me right. Is that going to be a problem?" Logan asked.

"N-no. N-not at all," Carlos replied instantaneously. "Twelve minus seven, huh?"

Carlos used his fingers and toes. He counted to twelve; having to count two of his toes too. Then he counted to seven, starting with his two toes this time. He counted all the fingers on one hand, but hadn't counted any of the fingers on his other hand.

"Five?" Carlos guessed, eager to get a kiss from Logan.

"That's right!" Logan said.

Carlos closed his eyes and puckered his lips. He didn't feel anything at first, but then he felt what had to have been foil. Carlos opened his eyes, disappointed, and saw that Logan was holding a Hershey's Kiss to Carlos' puckered lips, the silver foil rubbing against them.

Logan doubled over in laughter. Carlos sent him a withering glare before angrily snatching the chocolate morsel from Logan, unwrapping it, and wolfing it down.

"You're such a tease! Do you know that?" Carlos remarked bitterly.

Logan merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, you're the one who misunderstood!" Logan replied.

"Hey, you're the one who misunderstood!" Carlos said mockingly.

The two boys stuck their tongues out at one another. A smile tugged on both of their lips despite how they were supposed to be mad at each other. A light bulb went off in Carlos' helmeted head.

"How about for every question I answer correctly, we kiss for real?" Carlos suggested.

"I d-don't know about that. I m-mean wh-what if s-someone s-sees us?" Logan stammered.

Carlos rather enjoyed turning the tables on Logan. He got a lot of pleasure from making Logan squirm. He thought flustered Logan was so precious. Hold the phone! _Precious_? Did he really just say that? Well, think it.

"Why so worried there, Logie? After all, I suck at math," Carlos commented.

"W-worried? Wh-who's w-worried? I'm n-not w-worried!" Logan retorted.

A part of Logan felt squeamish about the prospect of kissing Carlos. They had never kissed before. Logan had never even kissed a guy before. What if he didn't meet Carlos' expectations?

He had to admit though that there was also a part of him that was…_excited_…about potentially kissing Carlos. Why? Because it was Carlos! He was so…buff. Those arms…that butt…Logan was hypnotized by the way Carlos danced; he was such a good dancer! The brainiac loved how Carlos sang too; especially his lower register. Plus, Carlos had some sort of knack for somehow convincing him to do wacky things like The Good Luck Patrol, ghost hunting, or treasure hunting. Logan did none of those things with James, Kendall, or any girl.

"Wait a second. You are the one who's _supposed_ to get positive reinforcement here, not me!" Logan commented.

"In English?" Carlos remarked.

"This is supposed to be about giving you things that _you_ want, not things that I want!"

"Aha! So you admit that you _want_ to kiss me?"

"Did I say that out loud?"

Logan's cheeks were crimson. Carlos couldn't help but laugh. Logan did that thing where he rubbed the back of his neck. He always seemed to do that when he got embarrassed or nervous. Carlos thought it was cute.

"Who says kissing you isn't something I want?" Carlos asked.

"What?" Logan replied, shocked.

"What?"

Now it was Carlos' turn to be embarrassed. Logan was thoroughly amused by this twist of fate. Carlos couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with Logan. Just the thought of kissing Logan was causing friction in Carlos' jeans.

Sure Logan didn't have washboard abs like James, but he still had definition there. Carlos had seen Logan get changed in the locker room before, and he's "accidentally" walked in on Logan getting out of the shower, and it was enough to make any straight guy question his heterosexuality. The 'V' of Logan's hips and his beefy thighs were to die for. Not to mention how when Logan sang, he could hit notes Carlos couldn't even dream about hitting.

"Earth to Carlos," Logan said, waving his hand in front of Carlos' face.

Carlos shook himself from his not-so-innocent thoughts about his best friend.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Carlos asked.

"What were you thinking about?" Logan responded.

_You_. Carlos' words seemed to get caught in his throat as he frantically tried to make something up before Logan got too suspicious. Not able to come up with anything, Carlos turned his attention back to the open textbook.

"So, question number four. Y equals 3. X plus 2Y = 10. Solve for X," Carlos read out loud.

_Stupid Y! Why did you have to mess things up? Don't you get that I want to kiss Logan?_ Carlos angrily slammed the textbook shut.

"It's no use! I don't get it! I'm too stupid to get it!" Carlos exclaimed.

Logan placed a hand on each of Carlos' biceps as he stared him straight in the eyes. The physical contact sent tingles up and down Carlos' vertebrae.

"You're not stupid, Carlos! I never want to hear you talk about yourself like that again, okay?" Logan asked.

Carlos reluctantly nodded his head.

"Good!" Logan said, smiling. "Okay for this problem, instead of Y, we'll put 3. So what is two times three?"

"Times?" Carlos asked, confuzzled.

"What is three plus three?"

Again, Carlos counted his fingers. That's the only way Carlos knew how to do it.

"Six?" Carlos replied.

"Uh-huh. So now we have X plus six equals ten. So instead of adding six to ten, we'll subtract it. So what's ten minus six?" Logan asked.

After using his fingers once more, Carlos couldn't hide the smile that formed on his face. He was confident in his answer, which meant…

"Four," Carlos said with no uncertainty in his voice whatsoever.

His smile quickly disappeared as he waited for Logan to respond to his answer. Logan said nothing. He did nothing. Carlos was starting to wonder if he had even heard him in the first place.

"Well?" Carlos asked, slightly annoyed.

The next thing Carlos knew, Logan's leaned over and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek. Carlos' cheeks went from tan to beet red in the blink of an eye. As Logan slowly retreated, Carlos noticed how he was once again rubbing the back of his neck. It was nice to know that his cheeks were flushed as well, the blush more prominent on Logan's pale face.

"The cheek? Really? That's _so_ romantic, Logie!" Carlos said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Was that _sarcasm_ I detected? Hey! That's my thing!" Logan protested.

"Yeah, well _your _thing is _my _thing now!"

Logan just so happened to be taking a swig of his fruit water when Carlos made that comment. Logan spit out the beverage, misting Carlos in the face. Logan started coughing as some of it went down the wrong windpipe.

"Put your hands in the air," Carlos coached.

"You're horrible!" Logan wheezed, pie-facing a smirking Carlos.

XXXXX

When Logan said that he would kiss Carlos on the lips only when Carlos finished _all _of the assigned even problems _and_ got them right on the first try, Logan never thought Carlos actually would. It wasn't that Logan didn't believe in Carlos, it was just that the problems got increasingly difficult.

Carlos was rather proud of himself. Maybe he was a quick study. Maybe he just had a good teacher in Logan. Or, and this was probably the most likely explanation, Carlos just needed the right motivation.

"Come now, Logan, don't tell me that you don't want to kiss me, because I _know_ you do!" Carlos remarked.

Logan laughed.

"Okay, you've been hanging around James _way_ too much!" Logan remarked. "Besides, I've already kissed you _eight_ times!"

"Yeah! On the _cheek_!"

"Hey! I kissed you on the forehead once!"

"Oh! My mistake!"

Even though Logan had to admit that Carlos' lips looked soft, luscious, and inviting…Logan held the bottle of fruit water up as he perused the ingredients. Was there something in the water he had been drinking?

Carlos was tired of waiting. He cupped Logan's face with his hands. He closed his eyes as he cocked his head to the left and leaned in, lips parted. Logan had to lean in as well otherwise Carlos would have ended up kissing him in the nose. Their lips met, and it was unlike anything either boy had ever experienced. The kiss started off somewhat hesitant, but it became less and less tentative as time elapsed.

Carlos pulled back ever so slightly, their foreheads still pressed together, their noses still grazing. Both boys had been left breathless. They looked at one another as though they were really seeing each other for the first time, their eyes full of lust and longing.

"I think I love math now," Carlos commented.

**The End**


End file.
